Missed major deadlines

[Afro]

As you all already know, almost all the major vac scheme deadlines for the Magic Circle and generally large firms are in December/January. I have been so busy with Uni and working part time and running a society that i ended up doing only one vac scheme application (Linklaters). They still have not rejected me but i have been on hold for while now that i'm starting to feel like i will be rejected anyways. Its also my final year of Uni. Apart from 2 months of experience at a small firm doing conveyancing and immigration i don't really have much else going for me. Just feel like i missed the boat this year, does anyone relate?

 

[AvniD]

Have you considered direct TCs? A lot of the deadlines aren't until springtime.

 

[James Carrabino]

As you all already know, almost all the major vac scheme deadlines for the Magic Circle and generally large firms are in December/January. I have been so busy with Uni and working part time and running a society that i ended up doing only one vac scheme application (Linklaters). They still have not rejected me but i have been on hold for while now that i'm starting to feel like i will be rejected anyways. Its also my final year of Uni. Apart from 2 months of experience at a small firm doing conveyancing and immigration i don't really have much else going for me. Just feel like i missed the boat this year, does anyone relate?

Here is a list of firms still recruiting for vacation schemes And as @AvniD said, many candidates received their offers from direct applications in the Spring/Summer application window, so you absolutely have not missed the boat for those!!

I know candidates who applied to 10-20 vacation schemes and did not get a single one, but then received a direct TC offer from a top firm in the summer within a month of submitting their application... it makes everything almost seem too easy after the vac scheme app slog 🤣

 

[George Maxwell]

As you all already know, almost all the major vac scheme deadlines for the Magic Circle and generally large firms are in December/January. I have been so busy with Uni and working part time and running a society that i ended up doing only one vac scheme application (Linklaters). They still have not rejected me but i have been on hold for while now that i'm starting to feel like i will be rejected anyways. Its also my final year of Uni. Apart from 2 months of experience at a small firm doing conveyancing and immigration i don't really have much else going for me. Just feel like i missed the boat this year, does anyone relate?

Hey @Afro,

I know that @AvniD and @James Carrabino have commented previously.

However, first I wanted to welcome you to the forum. Engaging with our community is a fantastic place to start and it is great to have you here. 🙌

Second, your post really resonated with me. When I was at university, I used to put a huge amount of pressure on myself to get applications in (often to the point where I would feel so anxious that I wouldn't actually start my application(s), resulting in me missing, or only just applying in time after a lot of last minute stress). I can't tell you how many people that I went to university with who also suffered from this too.

All I would say is that as James and Avni have said, training contract applications are very much still an option for you. In addition, not all firms have closed applications for their vacation schemes this year.

There is no better time than to start now. Try to forget about what could have been had you applied earlier. You didn't, and thinking about it will not help, it will only make you more stressed(!). It sounds like your final year at university is/was intense and life got in the way. That's ok(!). The biggest thing now is to focus on what you can control.

My advice would be to start by committing an hour or so to planning your application strategy. Think about which firms you are interested in that you can still apply to. Then consider how much time you could feasibly commit to applications per day/week. Set yourself internal deadlines (i.e., I want to have submitted X application by X date). I found it really helpful to buy (or print out) a physical calendar so I could visualise when deadlines were.

By investing a bit of time into a (realistic) schedule you will relieve some of the stress and anxiety that sounds like has built up. With the mental space you create by doing this, you can then focus on writing the best applications you can.

It goes without saying too, we are here to support you. 🚀

Please tag us if you have any questions about applications or ideas about where to go from here.

You can do this!

 

[Afro]

Thanks AvniD, James and George. You guys have made me feel a lot better, I was just feeling burnout when i think about. Appreciate you all taking the time to advice me. For some reason i did not consider direct training contract applications, i assumed those were meant for people who have already done the LPC.

 

[James Carrabino]

Thanks AvniD, James and George. You guys have made me feel a lot better, I was just feeling burnout when i think about. Appreciate you all taking the time to advice me. For some reason i did not consider direct training contract applications, i assumed those were meant for people who have already done the LPC.

Definitely not - you should absolutely consider these 😊

Really glad to have helped here - I'll link @AvniD and @George Maxwell just so that they see this as well!

 

[NCLaw]

Hi @Afro, I just want to say that I really resonate with your post and I have been a paralegal for almost 4 years now post-GDL. A similar thing happens to me every year. All I can say is that I've only just worked out how to not be overly-anxious about application writing and the whole application process in general. Anxiety is the only thing that has held me back and slowed me down but planning, research and realising I can do things at my own pace (ignoring thoughts of what I thought I should be doing) really helped me.

I've missed loads of vac scheme deadlines because of this anxiety but like the others said, there are so many more applications open! Create a table of the law firms you want to apply to, their deadlines and try and stick to them as best as possible. We've got this ☺️